Handicrafts and Heritage Sustainability as an Approach to Supporting the Tourism Economy According to Women’s Empowerment Initiatives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The aim of the research is to identify the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of handicrafts and their role in sustaining Saudi heritage, as well as to explore the role of state institutions and civil society in supporting the empowerment of Saudi women. The research assumes that there are no statistically significant differences in the evaluation of the dimensions of women’s empowerment initiatives regarding the role of handicrafts in supporting the tourism economy considering Saudi Vision 2030, according to the opinions of specialists. The research followed a descriptive-analytical approach for a sample of Saudi women’s empowerment initiatives, totaling three initiatives. The study utilized an expert opinion scale based on a set of closed-ended response options, which were then converted into numerical values. The scale included 22 statements divided across five dimensions expected for the initiative outcomes to achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. These dimensions are community perceptions of handicrafts, cultural and creative industries, tourism economy, sustainability of heritage crafts, and empowerment and project management. With the aim of monitoring specialists’ responses according to the Triangular Card assessment, accompanied by quantitative scores describing the responses of the sample individuals, the research results, according to the specialists’ opinions, proved that the practical dimensions of handicrafts can achieve sustainable economic and cultural benefits that benefit society and support the tourism economy as a key element in the comprehensive development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The research recommends encouraging the integration of expertise among specialists in government institutions and civil society organizations by providing training and qualification opportunities that contribute to economically and socially empowering women and support their participation in the labor market. The research also recommends activating the social responsibility of universities to conduct more research on cultural and creative industries for handicrafts, which enhances women’s empowerment and preserves the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.